Men's Cross Country Finishes 17th at National Championships

The Gaucho cross country program broke new ground on Monday, with their
first NCAA appearance. The championship meet, hosted
this year by Furman University in South Carolina, was won by Colorado, who
overtook Stanford by one point. The Gauchos finished in 17th place amongst
the competitive 31-team field of the country's elite teams.

UCSB was led by senior Josh Horton, who placed a stunning 17th place
overall, in an effort that head coach Pete Dolan labeled, "his best
race as a Gaucho." The Virginia native, which has earned him the
name "Beast from the East", covered the 10,000 meter course in a
blistering time of 29:49. Horton ran a typical Gaucho race, racing conservatively
in 50th place through the first two miles, but moved up through the field
during the final 4.2 miles.

"I felt winded through the first 400 meters of the race,"
said Horton. "But after the quick start, I relaxed and focused
on executing my race plan."

Running second for the Gauchos, and concluding his cross country career
at UCSB, was Goleta native Eric Gans. Gans finished in 102nd
overall, but in the 79th team scoring position. "I can't help
but be a little disappointed," said the fifth-year senior.
"But I learned a lot from this high-caliber race, and hopefully
that will translate to future benefits in track."

Overall the team was reasonably pleased with their effort.
Entering the season without even being ranked in the top ten for the West
Region, the Gauchos exceeded almost everyone's expectations as a top 20
team. Even with the team's 17th place finish, they rank in the elite
top 4% of all Division I programs in the NCAA's second-most participated sport
behind basketball.

"We went into the meet for our first time and beat our
ranking," said Dolan. "I'm pleased with our position, even
though the guys were hoping for a top 10 finish."

As a team, this concludes a season for a team that can be considered
the finest cross country team in UCSB history, and perhaps one of the
university's most accomplished teams ever. With five of the top seven
members of the program walking on to the program without scholarship money
(Sharp and Lamorandier being the two exceptions), few teams have such a
collection of overachievers.

The entire team will now take a break from running, but training for
track season will resume shortly. The team and staff also wanted to
extend a special thanks to the overwhelming support from parents, alumni,
and fans they received during the season, especially those who made the
trip across the country to support the team in South Carolina.